


we only have one minute and i love you

by AdelineVW7



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Impending Separation, Separation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:22:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26193361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdelineVW7/pseuds/AdelineVW7
Summary: He thought he had nothing left to lose after all the losses he was dealt, but in one stroke she had proven him wrong.[where it is Sakura who leaves Konoha after the Fourth Shinobi World War.]
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke
Comments: 2
Kudos: 39





	we only have one minute and i love you

After the war, she fled Konoha without a single word to anyone. 

Her teammates all tried to reach her, but she could not— _would not_ —be found. They were left only with her memory, and the countless little things she left behind—the gifts she bestowed on them on the slightest whim, the medicine packs she had carefully prepared for them according to their specific needs and habits, the pictures that she convinced them they must all sit for, together. 

Now all those things do not seem as small, or insignificant. In the dark of night, they would sometimes hold those keepsakes close, whispering love, wondering _why, where are you,_ _why did you leave us, Sakura?_

_Come home. Come back to us._

But the night remains mute to their hearts’ entreaties. The cold breeze whistles past their ears, void of the voice they would have loved to hear. 

Sasuke is hit hardest by the loss of her. He grows more silent and withdrawn, in those days— _after._ Her absence chafed constantly against his heart, reopening the scars there that have never quite healed. He thought he had nothing left to lose after all the losses he was dealt, but in one stroke she had proven him wrong. 

He keeps to himself, and time passes in a blur of colorless days. 

But one night the pattern is broken. A shrill ringing bursts into the gloom of his apartment, and Sasuke is called back from his bleak musings. The unfamiliarity of the sound gives him pause, and it takes him a while to realize that it was his phone. He accepts the call, and holds the device against his ear. 

At first, silence. He strains his ear to detect the slightest sound, anything, to identify the person on the other end of the line. Despite himself, he hopes. _Could it be…?_

Finally, a ragged breath scratches against his ear, and then a distinctly female whimper. His heart leaps in his chest. “Sakura?” he calls, tentative, hopeful. “Is it you?” 

“Sasuke-kun,” she chokes out, in between sobs. “I’m sorry.” 

“Come home,” he could not help himself from asking her, pleading. “Won't you come home now?” 

“I- I can’t, Sasuke. My time’s up.” 

“What do you mean-” 

“I love you. When I... when I’m gone, please do not ever forget that. I loved you until the end, and beyond.” 

“Wait, Sakura! What is happening-” 

He is interrupted once again, this time by an insistent knocking upon the door. He opens it to see Naruto. His impatient dismissal of his friend dies on his lips, as he notices the orange markings around his eyes—sage mode. 

“Sasuke,” he huffs. “It's Sakura-chan.” 

As if in confirmation, she speaks again, “I'm dying, Sasuke-kun. My use of the seal has burned through my lifespan. I-It won't be long now.” 

His breath is stolen away by her revelation. He could not keep the anger from seeping into his tone when he demands, “Why didn't you tell us?!” 

“I-!” she weeps, brokenly. “I was afraid. I did not want you to see me. Like... this.” Her words were interspersed with soft gasps, as if she were struggling to breathe. 

“Listen,” she insists, voice soft but steadied by her resolve. “Remember that I love you, and I- I always, always will.” 

“Sakura!” 

“Sasuke,” Naruto calls, his voice gruff from emotion. Sasuke meets his gaze, and the tears that have begun streaming down those whiskered cheeks confirm that which he was dreading. 

“She's gone.” 

**Author's Note:**

> This piece was inspired by lines from Dunya Mikhail's poem "Tablets V."


End file.
